HOLY FIRE

This week I’ve moved the judicial reform, the protests against it, and even security and defence topics to a back burner.

Instead, I have decided to write something about a seemingly innocuous event.

Admittedly, in this hyperactive country almost every topic is controversial, especially regarding Israel and the Church, in particular the Holy Fire ceremony.

By all accounts the ritual of the "Holy Fire" is an unforgettable experience, even curious lookers-on and sceptics are enthused by the spectacle.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is where the ritual of the "Holy Fire" takes place place every year on Great Saturday, the day before Orthodox Easter.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarch enters the packed church at the head of a representative procession of clerics from six Christian denominations.

Then he alone descends to the small chamber, considered by the Catholic and Eastern Churches as the site of Jesus' tomb. There he prays according to a time-tested tradition and emerges later carrying a cluster of candles lit by "Holy Fire" said to be miraculously sent from heaven. The details of the flame's source are a closely guarded secret. Believers say the fire is the source of the Resurrection and also the fire of the Burning Bush of Mount Sinai.

However, the authenticity of the miracle has long been disputed.

It has faced criticism and opposition throughout history, with some accusing it of being a fraud. Various Greek Orthodox clergy members have admitted to igniting the Holy Fire using non-miraculous means, while others claim that the tradition was invented by Catholic crusaders and continued by the Greek Orthodox Church. Despite the controversy, the Holy Fire continues to be an important religious event for many Orthodox Christians.

In 2012 an Associated Press reporter described the scene as follows- “Flanking the chanting crowds were dozens of black-clad security police, khaki-uniformed riot-prevention forces and border security guards keeping order. Photographers teetered over the crowds trying to snap photos. Palestinian women ululated as the fire emerged. Young men banged on drums and a few impatient pilgrims jostled and pushed, but were ‘quietened’ by the Israeli security forces.

Amid them all were clerics in colourful robes designating their particular church, trying to get as close as possible to the ornate chamber in the cavernous Holy Sepulchre where many Christian traditions believe that Jesus was briefly entombed after he was crucified nearby. "

If you are unfamiliar with the ceremony, you might wonder what Israeli security forces were doing in the church. In the past internecine scuffles, riots and on at least two occasions bloody clashes have marred the event.

 In 1834 the British parliamentarian Robert Curzon reported that more than four hundred worshippers died during the ceremony. Most of them were trampled to death in the overcrowded church, but some were killed when the governor Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt, a guest at the ceremony, was extricated by his guards. They were forced to cut an escape route through the panicking crowd.”

The holy fire ritual has been practised for at least 1,200 years, and this year, as in the past, the risk of fire breaking out in the church packed with candle carrying worshippers was a real hazard. In particular the risk is high because the main entrance to the cavernous, spiral-shaped church is also the exit. Six Christian denominations zealously claim different sections of the church. So far, the fear of jeopardising their foothold in the Holy Sepulchre has prevented them from agreeing to build an emergency exit or a fire escape.

In effect, Israel forced to adjudicate ends up in a no-win situation.

This year The Times of Israel and Associated Press reported that despite the fact that the Church’s architect asked the police to reduce the crowd size for safety reasons, Church authorities criticised what it called ‘heavy-handed’ restrictions.

Contradicting allegations by church leaders last week that Israel Police was unnecessarily infringing on Christians’ freedom of worship, a letter reviewed by The Times of Israel indicates that restrictions on the Holy Fire ceremony were imposed at the request of a Greek Orthodox official.

The April 3 letter, sent to the police station outside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre by church architect Teo Metropoulos, stresses that the maximum number of visitors for the ceremony should be 1,800 inside the building and 200 more in the courtyard.

The letter also emphasizes that “the only entrance to the church has an opening of 3 meters without any other dangerous [sic] exit,” and asks police to keep all internal corridors open.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate did not respond to repeated requests for comment. The office of the church’s Architect of the Common Technical Office similarly did not respond to attempts to verify the authenticity of the document.

Instead, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem told reporters – “After many attempts made in good will, we are not able to coordinate with the Israeli authorities as they are enforcing unreasonable restrictions on access to the Holy Sepulchre. The restrictions will limit access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and to the Holy Light ceremony.

Reuters accorded the event the following brief account- “Thousands of Palestinian Christians and pilgrims from around the world filled Jerusalem's Old City on Saturday to celebrate the Orthodox Holy Light ceremony, under a heavy Israeli police presence that has drawn anger from churches.”

Haaretz described the event as follows: -

“Angry pilgrims and clergy jostled to get through while Israeli police struggled to hold them back, allowing only a trickle of ticketed visitors and local residents inside

Tens of thousands of Christians took part in the Holy Fire ceremony on Saturday, an annual Orthodox Christian ceremony held in Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre, amid tension between police and Christian worshipers over Israel's decision to place limits on the number of participants for the third year in a row. Thousands of clergy, police, diplomats and pilgrims huddled inside the church, while thousands more crowded together in the surrounding alleys, where police clashed with people trying to get to the church.  

For the third consecutive year, Israel’s strict limits on event capacity resulted in tense confrontations between worshipers and police, sometimes erupting in violent arrests of worshipers trying to make their way through the barriers.

With only two exits in the entire church, Israeli police initially capped the event this year at 1,800 participants, leading the Greek Orthodox Church to accuse the police of infringing on the freedom of worshippers with "heavy-handed” restrictions. The police then agreed to increase the number of participants to 2,200, in addition to 1,000 worshipers who were allowed to stand in the churchyard and on its roof. Church sources said that the police ultimately allowed a greater number of participants to make their way to the church than initially planned.

As early as 8 A.M., Israeli police were turning back most of the tens of thousands of worshipers who had arrived from the gates of the Old City – including tourists who flew from Europe and Palestinian Christians who travelled from across the West Bank – directing them to an overflow area with a livestream viewing screen.

Angry pilgrims and clergy jostled to get through while police struggled to hold them back, allowing only a trickle of ticketed visitors and local residents inside. Over 2,000 police officers swarmed the stone ramparts.

In some cases, the pushing and shoving escalated into violence” …..

“In a statement, the Israel Police said that in order to keep the public peace and safety, we had to perform crowd control in the area of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the nearby areas in the Old City." This was done, they said, "in accordance with the size of the crowd and in accordance with the maximum capacity of the church, as determined by an external engineer working on the church's behalf."

Further to that, the police spokesman said "Regrettably, in several instances before the Holy Fire ceremony began, people who did not have permits issued by the church, tried to push police and break through the barriers intended to let in people with permits only.”

The age-old ceremony traditionally hosts as many as 10,000 worshipers, but police began to crack down on the event at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic three years ago, only doubling down on restrictions in the wake of the Mount Meron crowd crush the following year, which saw 45 worshipers die in a stampede.

During the ceremony, Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai watched over the ceremony on what is called "the Sovereign's balcony," a raised stoop overlooking the church. The balcony has been used for hundreds of years to supervise the event by the sovereign power in Jerusalem.

Private planes were commissioned to fly the holy flame across the world, including Sofia, Warsaw, Yerevan, Istanbul, and despite sanctions on Russia, Moscow. The fire will also be transferred to Kyiv, but in the shadow of Russia's invasion, will likely be transferred overland from Poland.”

 

I’ll conclude with a happy family event. My daughter Daphna and her husband Mark arrived here on a visit recently from Auckland, New Zealand. Our daughter Michal and her life partner Tanya are due to arrive on Sunday from Edmonton, Canada. The rest of us, my wife Roni, our son Moran and his wife Ayelet, our daughters Irit and Anat are also looking after the visitors.

The combined visits have a value-added benefit. Other relatives are “popping in” and will be meeting our family visitors.

 

Have a good weekend.

Beni,                          20^th of April, 2023.